Improvement in machines for making paper collars



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

HENRY F. KNAPP, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR MAKING PAPER COLLARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 54,56l, dated May 8,1866.

To. all 'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. KNAPP, of the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvemen ts in Machinesfor Making Paper Collars; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe annexed drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a side elevatian. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section.Fig. 3 is a plan of the bed or lower portion of the machine. Fig. 4 isan inverted plan of the follower or upper portion of the machine. Fig. 5is a vertical transverse section of the knif'e j on an enlarged scale.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts inail thefigures.

This invention consists in certain improved means of feeding the paperto the machine; also, in a novel system of reciprocating cutters andadjustable stationary cutters f'or cutting out and shaping the ends ofcollars of different lengths; also, in an iniprovement in theshear-cutters by which the collars are severedl or cut off from the rollof paper; and, further, in a novel arrangement of feed-rolls for feedingthe paper, cutters for cutting out and shaping the ends of the collars,a creasing device for creasing the collars in the line in which they areto be folded or turned over, and cutters for cutting oil' the collarsfrom the roll of paper.

To enable those skilled in the art to understand the construction andoperation of my invention, I will proceed to describe it with referenceto the drawings.

A represents the bed-plate of the machine, on which are situated thestationary portions of the cutting or punching devices, and from whichprojects upward an arch or standard, C.

B is the reciprocating platen which carries the moving portions of thecutting or punching devices, and which is secured upon the lower end ofthe vertical sliding bar D, which moves in suitable guides formed in thestandard C, and receives an up-and-down movement from the rotation ofthe crank u, placed transversely in the said standard C, and connectedwith the bar D by a pitman, b. Situated longitudinally in front of thebed-plate A are two feed-rolls, E F, the upper side of the lower roll,E, being dush with the upper surface of the bed-plate. These feed-:rollsfeed the paper inward to the machine in the usual manner, and may becovered with india-rubber or other soft material, if desired.

A ratchet-wheel, d, is placed upon one end of the upper roll, F, and isacted upon by a pawl, e, which is pivoted to a short bar, f. The saidbar having its outer end pivoted upon the shaft of the said upper rolland its inner end connected with the platen B by a link, g, in such waythat the reciprocating motion of the platen operates the pawl c andcommunicates an intermittent rotary motion to the ratchetwheel d, andconsequently to the feeding-rolls.

r r represent two longitudinal holes or slots which pass down throughthe bed-plate A, and are 'situated near the ends and front edge thereof.Each of these 'slots has at each side a longitudinal shoulder, c',situated below the surface of the bed-plate in such a way as to supportthe adjustable stationary blocks or cutters I I, which are secured inthe slots r upon the said shoulders@- in any suitable manner. The outerends of these cutters form the stationary cutting-edges, that act inconjunction with the reciprocating cutters j j, forming shears to cutand form the ends of the collars, and are curved so as to give anydesired shape to the said ends. These cutters or blocks I are shorterthan the holes r' in which they are situated, so that by placing them ata greater or less distance apart they may be adapted to cut collars ofdifferent lengths or sizes. Secured longitudinally upon the under sideof the platen B, immediately over the knives II, is a removable bar, J,upon the ends of which are secured the thin vertical cutters jj, whichare curved to correspond to the outer ends or cutting-edges of thestationary cutters I I, and which, as the platen B descends, move pastthe curved edges of the said cutters I I to sever the surplus paper fromthe end of the collar, the bar J being secured upon the platen B bymeans of screws, which may be easily removed therefrom, so that similarhars of different lengths may be used, in connection with the adjustablecutters I I, in cutting collars of different sizes. Behind the bar J arethe punches fff, which project downward from the under side of theplaten, and as the platen descends pass into corresponding holes in the2' jaser bed-plate, in order to punch the button-holes in the collar.Secured longitudinally upon the under surface of the platen, in rear ofthe punches fff, is an india-rubber pad, it, which, when the platendescends, presses the collar upon the curved creasing-wire L, which issituated upon the bed-plate A in a longitudinal position immediatelybeneath the pad 7c, by which means the collar is creased to prepare itfor folding, as required in'a turn-down collar. Just behind the pad 7cis the ordinary serrated bladen, which embosses the collar in imitationof stitching. Secured upon the rearmost edge of the bed-plateA is thestationary eutterH, which acts, in connection with the vertically-movingknife G, to cut the finished collar from the sheet of paper on the endof which it is formed. The vertically-movin g cutter G is secured uponthe rearmost edge of the platen, and has one end of its cutting-edgesomewhat lower than the other, and in this depressed end of the saidcutter G is formed a down wardly-projecting spur, h, the inner side ofwhich is beveled orinclined in such a way as to guide ythe end of thecutter G past the edge of the stationary cutter H, by which means theedge of the cutter G is caused to move past the said cutter H withoutstriking` or riding upon the same.

The operation of the invention is as follows: A sheet of paper of theproper width is passed between the rolls E F, which feed it inward untilits forward end is brought over the stationary cutters I I, when thedescent of the platen causes the cutters j j to move past the edges ofthe cutters I I and cut the surplus paper from the corners of the sheet,and thus shape the end of the collar to be formed from the end thereof',the spur 7L preventing the cutter G from riding upon the lower orstationary cutter, H. The next upward movement ofthe platen causes thepawl c to act upon the ratchet-wheel d, and thus rotate the rollssufficiently to move the paper forward until its front end is broughtunderneath the punches f f f, the pad k, and the serrated blade n, sothat the next descent of the platen causes the punehesffj' to punch thebutton-holes, while the pad 7c presses the collar down upon the curvedwire L, thus creasing it preparatory to the folding thereof, and theserrated blade a embosses it in imitation of stitching, the cut-ters I Iand jj at the same time cutting the ends of the succeeding collar. Thenext upward movement of the platen operates the rolls, so that the paperis again fed inward until the collar formed upon the end of the sheet ofpaper by the operations just described passes out at the rearmost sideof the machine in such position as to be sheared from the sheet by thecutters G and H at the neXt descent of the platen, which also punches,creases, and embosses the paper which forms the succeeding collar, andalso cuts the corners from the paper under the bar 7c, each descent ofthe platen thus acting in the formation of three different collars, andthe paper being fed into the machine as fast as the collars are cut offby the knives G H.

I do not claim embossing and indenting preparatory to folding at one andthe same operation 5 but Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. Operating the feed-rolls by means of a ratchet-wheel on one of therolls, and a pawl actuated by the platen which carries the reciprocatingcutters, substantially as herein specified.

2. The combination of the angular-edged adjustable cutters I I withknives jj, attached to a removable bar, J, and operating' to shear offthe waste and forni the ends of collars, substantially as herein setforth.

3. The projection h formed upon the reciproeating cutter G, andoperating to prevent the said knife from striking or riding upon thestationary knife H, substantially as herein set forth, for the purposespecified.

4. The arrangement of the feed-rolls E F, cutters I I andjj, and cuttersG and H in relation with each other and the bed A and platen B,substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

i HENRY F. KNAPP. l/Vitnesses:

A. LE CLERC, l. W. CooMBs.

